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Let’s get back to the basics of challah baking! The once-intimidating task is now daunting no longer with Esty Wolbe guiding us through the process using the challah recipe thousands of women make for Shabbat every week. Stick around for easy-to-follow directions for braiding beautiful 4-strand and 6-strand challos.
Get the recipe:
4 tablespoons Gefen Dry Yeast or other active dry yeast
5 cups warm water
2 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar, divided
5 pounds Glicks High Gluten Flour, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons salt
3 eggs plus additional for egg wash
1/4 cup Gefen Honey
1 and 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Your favorite toppings (I love to use everything spice)
Get the full recipe for Best Challah Ever!
For more with Esty, watch Easy Does It.
Photography and styling credits: Adena Loboda
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I dont like working with flour. I found that If I spray my surface with oil spray it also helps that it wont stick. Will this ruin the Challah? Also is it possible for yeast to rise too much. My yeast proofed so high it was double the water.
Hi
this recipe is yuuuuum! I actually added a tea spoon of vanilla in it came out really tasty b”H! and i love it that i can do it with the video-its so clear! so thanks!
I just wanted tosay that it would be a big zechus if you say that this amount of dough is enough to make Hafroshas Challah with a Bracha
(last time i made it i didnt know….
why is the mixer technique different than the technique by hand??
Esty says because the mixer technique is more powerful than mixing by hand. I find the mixer can make the dough too tough or frustrating to work with if overmixed.
Esty, Ive been trying for years to learn how to make 6 braid challeh- even after many people trying two explain it to me i was still confused….. your video changed it! Im now a 6 braid pro!!! thanks!
TIP: to make challah more elegant I like to wet my finger and put it into bagel spice and dot it on all the curves of the braid.
Hi Chaya,
We appreciate your feedback! I will send it to Esty on your behalf. And that sounds like a really helpful and classy tip. Thanks for contributing your idea which helps other Kosher.com users just like you 🙂
-Chana from the Kosher.com team
I love this challah video!!!😋WARNING: Do NOT watch on fast day. You will be temped as to literally baking it and standing by it until the end of the fast!😂Great job to Esti Wolbe!!
I make this challa every week, I use 2kg of flour (2 packets in Israel), its amazing! I just watched the video and followed every step, it came even better, thank you!
the 4 braid technique is really helpful thank you so much!
looks like the best
Thank you Esty for this amazing video, I just used my regular recipe but the braiding demo really helped me! My challos are in the oven now and they look nicer than ever (and I’ve been doing the 6 braid for about 12 years but never looked so nice…)
Hi Esty, i would love to try this challah, but it has WAY too much sugar. My husband does not like sweet challah. what is the minimum amount of sugar I can use that will still give it a good taste? (I don’t know if it is possible to give me an answer….)
You can try using 3/4 cup sugar.
Thank you Esti. I’ve always had a problem braiding 6 and today I followed your instructions and yes my challah look better. I also put the ends underneath so we shall see how they look when baked. Thanks again.
Thank you for the informative video. Since my time is limited can the dough be prepared ahead of time and either frozen or refridgerated and if so, what is the time frame suggested. if frozen, how should the dough be thawed?
Thank you
We’d recommend freezing the challah once it’s baked and cool. Place in an airtight bag and freeze! Then you can have challah that you pull out whenever you need it.
you may have an issue with saying the bracha on dough that you freeze without baking… make sure to aks your LOR
Thanks for the tip of cutting off the ends and putting them underneath for height! I never heard of doing that before!
Just FYI, if you start a 3- or 4-strand braid from the middle, instead of either end, you don’t get that mushy-looking first end
Thank You for making challah making- a big part in a womens life seem so simple. Is there any way to make it sugar free?
Great show! Just a tip from someone who’s been baking challah for some years, a stainless steel bowl should be fine and is actually recommended (do your own google search!) Materials you should be avoiding are copper and aluminum. Good luck!
I used to think that you need a bosch in order to make challah. And that it was a drop complicating. I
ve never made challah before since we dont have a bosch at home. Thank you so much for showing me how I can make without a bosch, and how it`s simple!!